Yōkai Rising
by StarchildKiryl
Summary: In a time when Yōkai are feared and hunted by a faceless enemy, Sakura and Kabuto hide their heritage. How? Becoming ninja of course! But the truth of the enemy threatens the balance, and may bring an end to the era of ninjas. "For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. Actions have consequences, good and bad."(sorta-AU. Gradually strong Sakura. Mini-tailed beasts.)
1. Kabuto Ryūjin

_Everyone knows the story of the Rikkudo Sennin. Of how he created the basis for Ninjutsu and taught it to humans. Of his sons Indra and Asura._

 _Some know of his mother, Kaguya, whom he'd sealed on the moon._

 _Few know what they really are and fewer still know what came before them._

 _Long before Kaguya, or her sons or grandsons, but similar in that they were otherworldly, were the Yōkai._

 _The Yōkai, led by Ryūjin, came to this same world, seeking acceptance for a new beginning. Their leader was quickly named a god of the sea, and dubbed king of the dragons. Other Yōkai had followed him though, well known ones like the Tengu, Tanuki, and Kitsune clans, and lesser known ones like the Okabe._

 _They were quick to mingle amongst humans to prove their worth and display their goodwill. They took jobs as farmers and fishermen, craftsmen and merchants, even as foot soldiers in armies. Hard labor was easy with their superior strength and speed._

 _When they eventually had children with humans, they kept the halflings in line. Soon it was discovered that halflings though weaker than their Yōkai parent, were still far stronger than their human parent. The Yōkai blood was winning out against the human._

 _Halflings would bare a partial Insignia, the tattoo-like marks that signify a Yōkai while in human form. These took shape in the clan's unique mark. They too were stronger than humans, and faster, like the Yōkai parent. And they even developed partial shifter abilities or a special ability for only the one Yōkai that falls within clan parameters._

 _And humans began to fear and envy the Yōkai. They could gain the abilities through a blood bond, but most feared becoming a "monster". Instead, the Hunters arrived. Humans who trained to kill Yōkai._

 _They slaughtered the Yōkai and their halflings, and survivors tried to flee to Ryūjin's coral palace. Upon hearing the news, the god-like dragon hid his home in a separate dimension where he controlled who came and went._

 _Those left behind in the chaos, all halflings but one, hid their Insignias and took up unassuming jobs and lifestyles._

 _The only full blooded Yōkai to stay followed suit, building herself a new life alongside a merchant caravan with her surviving descendants. And with many millennia ahead of her, the Otohime, Toyotama Ryūjin, began her new life as the head of the Yōkai survivors._

* * *

The wind blew gently along the dirt path edged by trees and foliage. It rustled leaves and mischievously threw silvery-grey hair into the face of the elderly woman walking along it. Her posture was slouched over and she held a cane carved in the shape of a dragons head in her left hand, the right one fiddling with the bag slung over her shoulders.

She had a destination in mind since her last one seemed to be a bust. Upon feeling her eyes water again, she quickly away her tears. She had gone ahead of her caravan to see her "daughter" and her family only to find the village decimated and the bodies of two adults buried under the rubble of their home. Her poor, poor Hikari and her darling Aiko.

And yet in her frantic search through the rubble, that she now sported bloodied hands from, she hadn't once come across the smaller body of their child. So now, she hopefully strolled along the path to Konohagakure, praying that her "grandson" had survived and fled to safety.

Her slanted, deep blue eyes swept over the area desperately searching out the mop of silvery hair that had to have been some mix of his mother's ivory hair and his father's shiny blue-black hair. Sure she hadn't seen the boy since he was two, but she still loved him and wondered if he liked the toys she'd sent.

It was that same love for the child that kept her walking along the path that was in no way suited for her heavy, dark blue kimono with lighter blue waves embroidered along the bottom and the silver obi that gleamed like mother of pearl. Yet she continued onward, Toyotama Ryūjin was not known to give up easily, especially with so much at stake.

She was sure that it was Hunters who attacked that village. It would be dangerous to leave her poor "grandson" all alone with them still prowling around. It wasn't until she saw the building in the distance that she realized how tired she was, but seeing the familiar shape only made her hobble off faster.

It was Konoha Orphanage, a place she'd been too before, bringing treats and toys and some necessities for the kids. Perhaps she'd sit and rest there a bit and have her healing hands looked at there. She slowed down as she approached, picking up a familiar, yet unwelcome chakra signature. A growl caught in her throat as she watched the familiar man leaving the Orphanage.

If there was ever a person she hated, it was Danzo Shimura and his scheming ways. Yet thankfully she saw no child with him as he left, though she saw him look around the area. His eyes landed on her and narrowed, yet she only smiled gently in return. She preferred to be the sweet old grandma after all. People are so gullible and she knew it.

Without another look towards the man, she continued on her way. She couldn't deal with Danzo today not on top of everything else that had gone wrong. But unknown to her, the day was about to get a bit better.

As she entered the door the caretaker of the orphanage swept her up to heal her wounds and she saw, with great relief, her "grandson" who was now called Kabuto.

* * *

 **Shorter than I hoped but oh well. I have plans for this though some things are iffy. Like would you like a non-massacre, partial, or just stick with the story? Also who along the main storyline would you also want to be Yōkai? And what type? I was thinking Sai would be one, and probably the sand siblings.**


	2. Sakura Haruno

It was that time of year again and the elderly woman in a seafoam green kimono watched her young charge bounce excitedly around the wagon they road in. The boy kept peeking out of the curtains that separated the back from the outside, where more covered wagons followed them. Then he would run up to the front and stick his head out, asking the couple who was driving where they were and how long until they reached ttheir destination.

"Oji-san, Oji-san! Are we there yet?" The little silver haired boy asked excitedly, dark eyes sparkling. The brown haired man just chuckled and shook his head, purposely ignoring the boy as he pouted. Turning to the woman beside the man he said, "Oba-san! Oji-san is being mean and won't answer me!" The woman turned her chocolate colored eyes to him and smiled.

"Hai, I've noticed. Don't worry Kabuto, we'll be arriving at Konoha's soon. Then you can go to see that Nono lady with Toyotama Ba-chan, okay?" She told her nephew as she brushed her long, silky brown hair out of her face. "I'd say about another twenty minutes."

With a big grin the boy disappear back inside only to reappear with a small hard candy in hand that he gave to his aunt. "Thank you Oba-san!" He exclaimed before turning to glare at his uncle. "You don't get one cuz you were being mean!" And with that he disappeared again.

In his stead, Toyotama's head appeared, a soft smile on her face. "Thank you for that Mebuki-chan. He's much calmer now." She turned to the woman's husband now. "And Kizashi, please try to refrain from teasing Kabuto. He gets so worked up over it sometimes."

Kizashi nodded in acknowledgement, but the old woman knew her words had little effect on the man. He would continue to tease the boy as he saw fit, his jovial attitude was just one of the reasons that Mebuki had married him. "So, Mebuki, dear, how are you feeling?"

"Very good actually. I told you Kizashi, I'm pregnant, not dieing." Mebuki reminded her husband. The man grinned sheepishly in return and Toyotama chuckled.

"Not yet anyways."

"Toyotama!"

"Ba-chan!"

"Hehehe...alright kiddies, Ba-chan is sorry." The elderly woman said, hands raised in surrender.

Mebuki-chan huffed out a quiet, "No you're not." And the rest of the trip was spent in silence, save for Kabuto and his questions. Once they reached the gates, Toyotama took Kabuto and they went off to a long awaited visit.

* * *

The moment the silver haired boy set foot over the threshold, he was whisked away by a familiar brown haired boy, who excitedly chattered about what had happened in the year he'd been gone. That left Toyotama with the younger woman who cared for the children. She was invited in to sit and offered tea while the children were busy.

"Ah, thank you Nono.I'm sorry for not writing for a while. There was an issue with some bandits along the road and I was caught up in retrieving the goods they managed to take. No worries though, your supplies are safe." The older woman stated, offering a polite smile.

Nono nodded. "Thank you for that. You didn't have to put yourself in danger though. I wouldn't have minded." Toyotama frowned a bit at hearing that, but only for a moment before her smile fell back into place with practiced ease.

"Nonsense child. I did what was necessary and it's not like I've never fought before. I was once a shinobi you know. My father had trained me to protect our little caravan." The elder assured, adding, "Even if I am an old woman now, I still have some fight left in me. I actually started training Kabuto since he was interested."

The younger woman raised an eyebrow at this, but saidnothing, instead changing the subject to something else. "Toyotama-sama, do you remember that man you met last year when you found Kabuto here?"

"You mean Danzo?" When Nono nodded, Toyotama chuckled. "I've known him awhile as I sometimes work with Konoha's Elders and the Hokage about renewing or updating trade deals. I've made it my point to be a thorn in his side."

Once again the old woman received a curious look, so she explained. "I'm a bored old woman my dear, I have to entertain myself somehow. Plus it's always fun to prove to him how the sweet, polite grandmother is favored over a bitter old man. And let me tell you, Danzo sure is a bitter old thing. The first time we met I thought he'd just chugged a glass or pure lime juice. He just has that kind of face."

Surprise flitted across Nono's face, her eyes wide and mouth agape for a brief moment. It was obvious that she'd never heard anyone speak about the man as she did. "Oh, yes...well, he came back recently, threatening to cut funds here...I don't know what to do. We need the money for the children but..."

"You don't want to ask me for another favor?"

"I feel like I'd owe you too much...

""Nono dear," Toyotama started with a soft, gentle tone, "all you have to do is ask. It's the least I can do for you having cared for Kabuto before I came."

Nono hesitated, before asking, "Don't you need it for your caravan? With all those people with you it must be costly."

"It is not a problem dear. When I give money, it is as a donation. I'm investing in these kids and their futures, and, by extension, in ours as well." She stated, off-handedly adding, "Plus when you live as long as I do, you gather quite the fortune."

"Oh...well thank you." Before either of them could find something else to talk about Kabuto came running back over and tugged the elderly woman to her feet.

"Ba-chan! Ba-chan! I told everyone about your stories! Come on, they wanna hear them." The boy said, pulling the woman along behind him to the other kids. They were sitting together chatting and only looked up when they heard footsteps.

Chuckling, Toyotama asked, "Alright then, what story should I start with Kabuto?"

"The Dragon King and the Yōkai!" The small boy exclaimed, wanting to start with his favorite.

"Very well then, sit down boy." She said pulling up a seat of her own while the children arranged themselves around her.. "It all began many years ago, when the Other world began to wither and die..."

* * *

By the time the children were tired of hearing her stories, it was growing dark outside. Toyotama led a tired Kabuto away from the building and back to the grounds where her caravan was located. There was lively chatter about, coming from the people who had gathered around a large bonfire. Upon seeing the duo, a man had jumped up and strode over.

The woman recognized him easily. With his dark brown hair pulled up in a top knot and a forest green yukata, he was fairly obvious. He was in his late twenties and always had a more traditional choice in clothing. The man was the resident weapons merchant, Ichigo Yamada. Despite his slim appearance, he was known among the caravan for being as good with the weapons he made as well as making them.

"Good evening Ichigo-san. Did you need anything?" The older woman asked.

"Hi Ichigo-sensei." Kabuto mumbled tiredly as he rubbed his eyes from under his round glasses.

Ichigo nodded with a small smile on his face. "Good evening as well Toyotama-sama, Kabuto-sama." The man greeted them politely before turning his attention to Toyotama. "I thought you should know, Mebuki-sama was taken to the hospital here in Konoha not too long ago."

A look of surprise crossed the elder's face but Kabuto spoke upfirst, worry clear in his voice. "What?! What's wrong with my Oba-san?"

"Nothing serious, she should be back in a day or two. But when she does, you'll be able to meet your new cousin." The man explained, watching the boy's expression change from worry to curiosity and finally lighting up in excitement.

"A cousin? Really?" The boy asked, bouncing slightly where he stood. "Do you think they'll let me hold them? You think it's a boy or a girl? What do-" The hand on his shoulder made him stop and look back to see his grandmother's smiling face.

"Kabuto that's enough. You should go to sleep so you aren't tired tomorrow. You wouldn't want to drop your cousin because you where tired, right "

"Hai, Ba-chan! I'm gonna go to bed then, wake me if my cousin comes home!" And with that, the boy bounded away towards the wagon he'd rode in on.

"I believe I'm going to go to sleep as well. With Mebuki and Kizashi gone, I'll need to watch over their stand tomorrow." Toyotama turned to follow her grandson, only stopping to say, "And Ichigo? First thing tomorrow, can you send someone to Konoha Orphanage with their pre-ordered supplies?" The man nodded again and went to rejoin the rest of the caravan, barely catching the old woman's, "Thank you."

The next couple days were just a blur of haggling customers and large crowds where she, and occasionally Kabuto, would handle Kizashi's stall. They sold mostly handcrafted jewelry, though Kizashi had recently added some specialized weapons. Mostly fanciful fans that doubled as weapons. The man had even managed to make some spring loaded fans to hold sebon needles. There were some silks they transported that Kabuto would happily run to the shops that asked for them.

Today though, the boy sat perched on the stall's display counter, dressed in a silver and pale blue yukata. He was proudly showing off his own plain, spring loaded practice fan. Currently he was explaining the mechanics behind the fans design to a couple of Uchiha boys. Toyotama only jumped in when he offered to let the duo throw some kunai at it, stating the it wasn't safe with all the civilians around.

"Sorry Ba-chan...can I go show them someplace sa-" the boy cut off mid sentence, eyes landing on the familiar forms of his aunt and uncle, as well as the pink bundle in the woman's arms. "Oba-san! Oji-san! You're back!"

"Hai, Kabuto-kun. Sorry we distracted you from your conversation." Mebuki said nodding to the dark haired boys watching them.

"Wha-Oh! I'm sorry! Um, maybe I can show you later...?" The silver haired boy trailed off realizing he hadn't gotten their names.

Noticing this the elder spoke up. "I'm Shisui! Shisui Uchiha! And this is my baby cousin Itachi. We'd love too see how that thing works! Can you show us tomorrow?" The other boy, Itachi, simply nodded his agreement, curious as well about the small weapon.

"Okay! Bye!" Kabuto replied waving the two off. He then eagerly turned to his aunt. "Is that my new cousin? Can I...?" He slowly reached out his small hands towards the bundle.

With a chuckle, Mebuki place the baby in his arms. "Here Kabuto. You have to support her head." She helped him adjust his grip on the little girl before backing off. As he stared down at the baby he noticed the small tuft of pale pink hair and her pale skin. Her eyes were a lighter jade green.

"What's her name?" He asked.

"Sakura."

He repeated it back, "Sakura...Hello Sakura! I'm your cousin Kabuto. When you get bigger I'm gonna teach you how to use all of my favorite weapons and I'll teach you how to heal people like Nono-san taught me!"

And almost too quiet to hear he said, "I'll protect you Sakura. I promise."

* * *

 **Yeah Sakura and Kabuto are related in this. Distantly related, sure, but still. Toyotama kept track of all her descendants very well.**

 **Also if anyone wants to, I'm offering some votes on Naruto characters you want to be Yōkai. So far only Sakura, Kabuto, and Sai are potential Yōkai. No Uchiha (or other major clan) members are related to Yōkai, at least none so far. Neither is Naruto. He gets mistaken for one but genetically he's not.**

 **I'm still debating on the sand sibs being Yōkai, but I'll leave this up to you all. So, who would you like to be Yōkai in this story.**


	3. Sunagakure

**_6 Years Later: Sunagakure_**

The village was bustling with activity at the moment, crowds flocking to the grounds where the large caravan resided. Over the years, the Haruno Caravan had made quite the name for itself, which attracted many small time merchants to it until it grew to be a small, mobile village on its own. Currently they were leaders in many types of goods transport, from fine silks to jewellery to even weaponry of all sorts.

The trinkets they sold most often drew in civilians, however, the weapons were good enough-as well as inexpensive enough, quality be damned-to catch the attention of some of the shinobi as well. Good weapons were hard to find so cheap, so many tended to try to stock up while the caravan was in town.

However, the village was much more entertaining to the travellers than their caravan was. As it was, so early in the day and before the sun rose too high, two figures left the crowding grounds.

The taller was dressed in long, slightly baggy black pants and a pair of blue, standard shinobi sandals. He had a long sleeve, but light weight grey-blue shirt underneath an open, sleeveless hoodie in a navy blue. An ocean blue circle with a silver center was centered on the back, between his shoulders. The hood was pulled up to keep the sun from his eyes as he wandered the streets, left hand held captive by a little girl with pink hair and shining jade eyes. He often marveled at how different they looked even though they were supposed to be cousins, what with his own silvery hair and dark eyes.

The girl wore a similar outfit to her older cousin, only her shirt was a dark forest green with a lighter hoodie and the symbol on the back was only a plain white circle. She skipped happily alongside her cousin, who was sure that the girl was attempting to copy his style, though he was more flattered than anything. Both wore plain nylon rigs around their waists, from which hung their assortment of handheld weapons.

A weapons pouch and a pair of battle fans for the girl as well as a small whip she was learning to use, and the boy had a similar set, only a plain tanto blade hung in place of the whip.

"Kabuto-nii, do you think there's a playground here somewhere? I wanna play with some new people!" The girl exclaimed, eyes glancing down every street as she looked for a playground to go and explore.

"Oh probably, we just have to find it is all." Kabuto assured her, pausing to look around the area before turning down a side street. "It's this way Sakura." He told her as he led her along and out into a large, open area. There was a simple play set and some swings in the shade as well as a large open area where the majority of the kids were playing with a ball.

Sakura was quick to run up and introduce herself, asking to play with them all. As they explained the game to her, Kabuto settled for leaning against the wall of a nearby building, keeping an eye on the girl. He smiled at seeing her so quick to make friends.

Sakura herself was excited to play, and soon the game began. She ran alongside the other kids in their game of soccer, chasing the ball around. For a moment she lost sight of it, until she heard one of them shout at her. She whipped around and barely caught the ball before it hit her head.

The other kids were quick to rush up to her and check on her, worried that she was hurt or asking how she learn to move so fast. Sakura, however wasn't paying attention to their questions, instead she stared off past the group and over to the swings where she saw a red haired boy sitting all alone. Curious, she turned to face the boy and called out, "Hey! You wanna play?"

The boy's head snapped up, surprise flickered on his face briefly before he smiled shyly. He moved to get up but stopped when one of the other kids grabbed her hands, pulling the pink haired girl closer to their group. "Are you _crazy_?! That's Gaara! He's a demon!"

"A...demon?" The girl asked, glancing between both Gaara and the boy who had pulled her back. The words sunk in and Sakura smiled, "Really?"

Before any of the other kids could stop her she bolted across the grounds and stopped in front of the boy. "Are you really a demon?" She asked, smiling brightly and ignoring her cousin's curious stare. Gaara visibly deflated at being called a demon yet again, but he still nodded solemnly. "That's so cool! What kind of demon are you? Do you even know?"

Gaara was surprised at the outburst and it quickly turned to confusion. He tightened his grip on his bear he held and mumbled quietly, "Um...thank you? I don't know what kind...but um, I think I heard my father say tanuki once? I'm sorry."

"Wow, Tanuki? I've never met one before! Hey do you have a special power? My Ba-chan says all demons do." Sakura stated, placing her hands on her hips. She tilted her head curiously as she watched him.

"Ah...um I can..." He trailed off, holding up one hand, palm up. Sand swirled around and started to form a humanoid shape that waved at her.

"Awesome! I wish I could do that." The girl said, eyes wide in awe. She seemed entirely oblivious to the boy's confusion as she launched into a one-sided conversation about different demons she'd met. Still, he was happy that the girl was actually talking to him.

The moment was ended when Kabuto came up to take Sakura home. As they were leaving, the duo stopped for one moment. "If you want boy, you're welcome to come to the caravan later tonight." Kabuto told him with a slight smile.

Sakura nodded and added, "Yeah! We can play more then!"

"Okay!" Gaara said, watching as they walked away. He sat there humming a tune until he heard footsteps approaching him. Looking up he saw his uncle watching him curiously. "Yashamaru! Guess what happened today!"

The man raised an eyebrow at the little boy and asked, "What happened?"

"I think I made a friend!"

"Oh really? What was their name?" Yashamaru asked, noticing how the boy's face fell. "You...didn't you get their name?" Gaara shook his head. "...well that's alright I suppose. Do you think you will see them again?"

"Yeah, the older boy with her said I can go to their caravan tonight. What's a caravan? Can I go?" Gaara asked curiously as he followed his uncle home.

"A caravan is a group of wagons that roam around. They must be part of the merchant caravan that's in town then. And if you can go if you behave yourself until after dinner. Temari and Kankuro were bothering me about taking them any how." Yashamaru said, watching as Gaara nodded.

"I'll be good! Promise!"

"Then I'll take you."

* * *

Over the month the caravan remained, Sakura had spent as much time as possible with Gaara. She had even taught him her favorite game, "It's called hide from Kabuto-nii! We run off and hide while he's supposed to watch us!", the little girl had explained. It was fun to watch him run around looking for them, but he had scared the red haired boy after he got mad the first time.

Sakura had also been helping him practice his sand control with her grandmother. He would stand a few feet away and they would call out shapes or animals for him to make. He was starting to get really good at it too and Toyotama had praised his reaction time.

He had also learned that the games Toyotama gave them were subtle ways to teach him and Sakura basic ninja training. Like the one where Kabuto would jam a kunia into a pole and tie a treat bag on the end. The one to knock it loose would get the candy. After a few times Sakura had explained that it was how they tried to improve their accuracy. That night Gaara had gone and tried to teach his siblings the game as well, even if they were wary of him at first.

Gaara had also dragged the girl along to meet his elder siblings. They were skeptical of course but soon warmed up to her, just a little. And he hadn't noticed, but his siblings were slowly acting less afraid of him. And everything was fine until the last day of Sakura's stay.

The two were hanging out behind the Haruno families wagon, flipping through old tomes Sakura had found. There were many odd symbols and some names that Gaara recognized from his friend's mini lectures on demons. As they flipped through, Gaara pointed out them ones he'd seen among the caravan people.

"What about that fan shaped one?" He asked the girl, who peeked at his page. The symbol was a reddish brown that had nine, slightly waved lines that formed a fan shape. The tips were fatter at the ends and thinned out as they connected at the base.

"That would be the Kitsune clan symbol. Where'd you see that one?" The girl asked. Flipping the page of her own ancient book.

"On your main weapons smith. Um...Ichigo-san?" Gaara relayed, shrugging.

"Ah. I never noticed." And the two went back to their silent research for some time.

Sakura had flipped through her own book happily. It was just a recount of the tales Toyotama used to tell. It wasn't until she heard Gaara gasp quietly. She marked her page and slid over to her friend. He was just staring at a page with a drawing of a massive, sand colored Tanuki with blue markings on it.

"Oh, that's Shukaku. He's a chakra demon. That means his powers are solely based in chakra, instead of a Yōkai's Qi." Sakura stated, staring at the picture. For a moment she sat there skimming through the text, but then she realized something. "Hey Gaara?"

Nervously the boy peered up at his friend. He knew right away that she had seen his name on the short list of Shukaku's hosts. "Y-yeah Sakura?"

"Are you really Shukaku?"

"Wha-! N-no! I...I mean...yes? Maybe...I-I dunno..." At his friend's questioning look he tried to elaborate. "Um, well, I...I heard once that they sealed Shukaku in me...and sometimes I hear a voice. It tells me to...to kill people. I don't wanna do that though."

"Oh." Sakura murmured, turning her head away in thought. Silence reigned as she thought, making the little boy beside her fidget anxiously. "I doubt they used the same seal the Uzumaki used when they sealed Kurama. They were really good with seals. At least Ba-chan says so. Yours might be weaker."

Suddenly the girl stood up and gave a quick command for the boy to stay before she disappeared into her wagon. He could hear the rustling sounds, though faint, as she dug through their belongings. A moment later she hopped back out and sped around the corner with another large tome in her arms.

She threw it down on the ground in front of her friend and plopped down to start flipping through the pages. Gaara leaned against her as he peered over her shoulder, yet he didn't understand what the symbols meant. They did remind him of seals though.

"Here we are!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing at a picture that looked like a circle surrounded by five teardrop shapes. Beside it was a beaded necklace, which he wasn't too sure what it did.

"What is it?" Gaara asked.

"This is a Qi seal! Specifically the Beast Qi seal. It stores a half Yōkai's Beast Qi in it and once there's enough it makes a sort of Qi clone of the person that can be summoned or dispersed at will." Sakura explained, both reciting what she was taught and what she read from the text.

"Wow..." Gaara muttered, before he asked, "So how would this help me?"

Sakura smiled and explained."We're gonna use it on you and you use Shukaku's chakra instead of Qi! It should have the same effect. The necklace will help you control him. That's what it does with the Qi clones."

"Will it hurt?"

"It shouldn't."

Gaara thought for a moment before pointing to the necklace on the page and saying, "And I can control Shukaku with this?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I wanna try it...maybe people will like me if I can control Shukaku." Gaara said though the last part was murmured quietly under his breath.

"Great! I'll go get what we need and we'll find a place to do this in private." Sakura said as she grabbed the book and took it with her, leaving Gaara alone once more. He wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually Sakura came back around the corner. The girl had a bag slung over her shoulder and the tome under her arm.

"You ready?" She asked with a smile.

"Y-yeah, I think so..." Gaara said nervously. Holding out his hand. Sakura took it happily and the two disappeared in a whirl of sand, leaving behind two confused children and a suspicious Kabuto who had come to send Gaara home with his siblings.

* * *

The duo reappeared a little ways into the desert, just off the road leading to Suna. Sakura sat down cross-legged and put her bag down, then opened the tome up to the marked page. Gaara kneeled next to her and, on her instructions, pulled out the items in her bag. He was confused by the odd array of items and made a mental list in his head as he removed them:

~two bowls

~a large inkwell

~a large water canteen

~some calligraphy brushes

~the necklace from the book

~a roll of bandages

~disinfectant

And lastly, a knife. It made the boy uneasy and he was starting to wonder whether or not this really was a good idea. But Sakura wouldn't try to kill him, would she? He had told her about the sand protecting him, so he hoped she knew better. And besides, why would she let him unpack everything if she did. That meant she knew he'd find the knife, and she wasn't worried.

Suddenly she clapped her hands together, startling the boy. "Okay Gaara! Here's the deal, I'll put the seal on you and you try to get Shukaku's chakra into it, from then on, it should do the rest. At any time before that, we can stop if you change your mind. I'll explain things as we go. You ready?" And he found himself nodding despite his fears.

Sakura shifted to face him, grabbing the two bowls and setting them between herself and her friend. The tome lay open beside her and she scanned the instructions once more before explaining what to do. "Okay so you fill that bowl with water and that one with ink." She instructed her friend.

Gaara did as he was told and stared at the two bowls as Sakura reached over to her bag and pulled out a wooden spoon. She then grabbed the knife and set it next to the water dish. "Now Gaara, this part is important. A big part of this seal is blood, because a Yōkai's Qi flows along the same veins as blood. We need some of yours or it won't work."

"O-oh...but my sand..."

"That's what this is for," she pointed to the water bowl. "It should slow down your sand."

"That's gonna hurt though. You said it wouldn't." Gaara stated, frowning.

"Oh...I thought you meant the seal itself...sorry, I'll make it quick." Sakura bowed her head. "Unless you want to stop."

The boy shifted nervously and said, "No...I'm okay. Um, please be quick." He held his hand out and Sakura carefully took it, lowering it into the water. His breath hitched for a second and the girl stopped.

"Talk to me." On seeing his confusion she said, "It hurts less when you don't think about it. So how're Temari and Kankuro?" She asked. The red head tore his eyes away from his hand and locked onto Sakura's eyes.

"They're okay...um, they're being nicer to me. Temari actually let me sit with her and she didn't try to leave." He said, trying not to glance down as he saw Sakura lower her hand to pick up the knife. The boy tensed when he felt the water move again but tried to think of something else to say. "Kankuro is nicer too...he let me see his new puppet too. He didn't let me touch it though. That's not too weird though. He doesn't let anyone touch them."

"That's good. I'm glad they're warming up to you!" Sakura exclaimed. "Now you'll have somebody there when I have to leave." The pinkette tried to ignore the sand that whirled as she swiped the blade quickly across his palm.

Gaara gasped and pulled his hand back, while Sakura was knocked away with a sandy tendril. "Sakura!" The boy hurried over to her side as she tried to sit back up. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said as she pushed herself up again and crawled back to the bowls. Luckily the ink filled one wasn't knocked over, however the water dish was spilled. "Gaara, hold your injured hand over the ink bowl." She told him, watching as he held his cut palm over it. It appeared to be healing already but blood still dribbled down it and into the ink.

Soon Sakura pulled his hand towards her and let him mix the bloody ink together better while she patched up the small wound. Once he had his hand back, he inspected it carefully. "It wasn't that bad...that was really weird though. I don't wanna get hurt again."

"Yeah? Sorry about that Gaara. I probably should have mentioned it before. But I tried to make it painless. That's why the blade was so sharp." Sakura said as she gathered her calligraphy brushes. "Where do you want the seal Gaara?"

"What?"

"I have to paint this seal on your body. So where do you want it?" The girl clarified. He made a small sound of understanding and pointed to his right shoulder. It made him glad he wore short sleeves that day. "Okay, that's good. Now hold still." And he did, though it was hard. The brush tickled and the ink was cold. But it was fine, it didn't hurt, just felt weird. And before he knew it, she was done.

"Now what?" He asked. She froze for a moment and thought. Then she checked her book.

"Okay, um...can you channel Shukaku's chakra to the seal? It should start absorbing it on it's own after that. I gotta repaint the seal on this necklace too."

"...I...I don't know how to use Shukaku's chakra. It usually just...acts?" Gaara admitted nervously.

Sakura stared for a moment before she said, "That's a problem...how could we get it to..."

The boy looked at the ground in thought before his head suddenly snapped up again. Though she could she the fear in his eyes, he still said, "Hit me."

"...what?" The pinkette was genuinely confused, not sure what to think about the outburst.

"Hit me," he repeated, pointing at the seal. "Right there. Shukaku won't let me get hurt again."

Sakura looked skeptical about it, but motioned for her friend to turn around. He did so and she could see how he tried not to shake Still she pulled her fist back and quickly let it fly right at the small mark on his shoulder.

An inch away from it and her hand was stopped by sand, which quickly wrapped around her wrist and threw her aside. The seal suddenly glowed gold and Gaara gasped, clawing at the mark that had burned itself into his skin. He stumbled and fell, letting out another choked cry.

"Gaara!" Sakura called running up to the boy and sliding through the sand to his side. "What's wrong?!" He didn't answer, just curled up into aball and whimpered. She tried to summon the healing chakra Kabuto was teaching her, but it was barely a flicker of green. Still it was something so she laid her hands over the seal in an attempt to soothe it.

Eventually the glow faded and she helped her friend sit up, hugging him in relief. "I'm sorry, Gaara. I'm sorry. I didn't know it would do that!" He sat still in her arms, confused and scared but otherwise alright.

"Sakura?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah?"

"I don't wanna feel pain again...I don't like it." Gaara told her as he slowly hugged her back. Neither noticed the animal shaped form a lying a few feet away from them until it let out a groan. The duo froze and turned towards the sound.

There, on the ground and starting to stir, was a small, round animal that would have blended into the sand if not for the blue markings along its body. It slowly rose to its feet and a pair of golden eyes flickered to life in the blackness of the mask-like mark on its face. It was dazed but slowly, very slowly, was starting to realize what it was seeing.

Gaara cringed and shied away from it, fear flickering in his eyes despite the Beast beingba little less than half his size. She didn't understand at first, but then saw it. _Shukaku wasn't wearing the necklace._ **Gaara had no way to control him.**

And with that she bolted towards the supplies, as the One-Tail began to laugh, head snapping in their direction. She dove to snatch up the necklace and, ' _Kami please let the seal be ready!',_ glanced at the central pendant. It needed the center circle, why did it have to be unfinished?! She thought, she was sure-!

"S-s-sakura!" She could hear the boy cry out, terrified as the sand demon leapt at him. Barely ducking beneath the claws that flew for his head. The sand still came to his aid though. Deflecting the claws and a horrible scratching sound peirced the air. "Sakura! The seal!"

She quickly placed the final dot in the center, though it was sloppy looking compared to the rest. She was glad that the seal didn't have to be perfect. But now the demon was looking at her, eyes landing on the charm in hand. He let out a feral growl and an enraged shout of, **"I will NOT be trapped again!"**

Sakura lunged to the side, having to roll to the left after she landed to avoid the claws. She got to her feet quickly and felt for the charm- _It's gone! No! Where?!-_ she looked around and that was all it took. Shukaku charged, fangs ready to close on her throat.

Sakura couldn't move.

Couldn't _breathe._

.

.

.

 _Everything slowed down. She couldn't move fast enough. Frozen in fear._

 _Her heart beat too fast._

 _She was going to die. **Gaara was going to die.**_

 _'And it's all my fault...'_

 _There was yelling._

 _'I just wanted to help.'_

 _A flash of silver in the distance, a gleam of light._

 _'Mom and Dad...they'll miss me, right?'_

 _She heard her name._

 _'What would they say if they knew?'_

 _She was staring right into Shukaku's open mouth. His eyes were wide. She didn't understand._

 _'What would Ba-chan think?'_

 _The necklace was around his neck now._

 _'Wha-?'_

 _The demon fell back with a strangled cry. Golden light. Sand pulled back. Standing behind the Beast was none other than..._

 _'Gaara...'_

"Gaara..." The little girl breathed out. There was her friend. His hands outstretched as if reaching for her, yet he stood stock still. And she suddenly knew what happened.

Gaara took the necklace when it fell. Gaara used his sand to put it on Shukaku. Gaara had saved her. Gaara had saved _her._ He could have left, should have left, but he didn't.

 **"YOU DAMNED BRATS!"** The furious shouts of the demon drew the kids attention and Sakura just barely registered her cousin's appearance. **"I'LL KILL YOU! LET ME UP!"** Both children looked confused for a moment before Kabuto speaks up.

"So...did somebody give him a command then?" He asked with a sigh. Of course this is what they were up to. It couldn't have been normal kid games, could it? He was certain that it was Sakura's idea to try the seal, Gaara was too nervous a kid to initiate something like this.

Gaara nodded, voice shaking a bit. "I...I told him to stop...a-an then he just froze..."

The elder boy tapped his chin in thought and carefully approached the bijuu. "Hey. Can you move right now?" He asked it, staring at it's prone, yet cursing form. Shukaku let out an angry growl, but the silver haired teen didn't flinch. "I thought as much. You know, now that that's on you, you can't attack Gaara or anyone he doesn't specifically tell you to attack?"

 **"You've gotta be joking! I can't be controlled by some stupid brat!"** Shukaku looked like he was about to say something else but quiet sniffles prevented it. He turned his head to face the sound only to see his host crying. **"Hey brat! What're you crying about?! You ain't the one bound to an annoying brat!"**

Kabuto sent him a glare as he stepped over the still beast. Shukaku seemed incapable of getting up so he ignored him for now. Sakura had a similar idea as she ran up to Gaara and asked him what was wrong.

"E-even Shu h-h-hates me..." He mumbled quietly, yet the bijuu still heard. There was a slight droop of his ears at the sentence. He wasn't sure he hated the brat, not entirely, but he didn't like him much either. No, his hatred was more from being caged for so long. He watched them lead his host back to the scattered supplies and greet the newcomer. There were shinobi headed this way he knew, but he really doubted they'd reach them anytime soon.

"Shukaku. How nice to see you again." The new voice caught his attention and he glanced up. He grinned.

 **"Toyotama, it's been a while."**

"I'll make this quick Shukaku. You should behave for Gaara. He's just as hated as you are you know. Plus it will be beneficial to be on his good side until the boy dies. You're bound to him by blood now, and should he die before he is an adult, you will as well. I'm sure he'll take good care of you though, he could use some companionship once my caravan leaves tomorrow. It's all he really wants." The old woman received no answer and thought for a moment.

"Shukaku, this is the most freedom you've had since they first sealed you in that...teapot I believe? You should really make the most of it, if not for Gaara, then for your own comfort."

 **"...I hate it when you talk like that old woman."** The bijuu stated slowly.

"And why's that?" The woman asked, already knowing the answer.

 **"Because,"** Shukaku said, a slightly sad tone creeping into his voice. **"It reminds me of him."**

* * *

Toyotama handled the talking when the shinobi arrived, explaining the situation as a jutsu gone wrong that Sakura had tried teaching Gaara. She says she had been the one to collar him and that his host should be able to control Shukaku better now.

Rasa had looked skeptical, but hardly seemed to care after hearing the last part. Yashamaru, who had followed him, was more concerned about the wound on the boy's hand. He was cautious in his approach though, as Gaara had decided to carry the bijuu on the creature's insistence.

Shukaku had decided to follow the old woman's advice and took the opportunity to live as comfortably as he could. It really was nice to be able to walk again, even if he was much smaller than he remembered.

The next day, as planned, the caravan left. Sakura had promised to write to her new friend every chance she got, and swore to bring souvenirs back the next year. With their good-byes said, the caravan set of, heading in the direction of Konohagakure.

* * *

 _ **Feel free to comment or ask questions if you want. I'm not spoiling anything though.**_


	4. Interlude I

_**Interlude I**_

 _It was a quiet day in the quiet little village. The farmers worked in the fields, smiths forged tools and weapons, and women followed after their small children. They were just a small fishing village far enough from the sea to not be a problem with storms and the tides, but close enough to use it's resources. They were peaceful and rarely had problems with bandits or raiders, or anything really. That was, until that day._

 _That day, the sky split open and the heavens shrieked, sending the people to their knees. They covered their ears until the sound had died, yet remained on their knees as they glanced fearfully aroumd them. The air was still, the world was quiet, and everyone waited with baited breath to see what had caused such a terrible sound._

 _Suddenly, a man came barreling aroumd the corner frantically pointing towrds the harbor."I-I-I...there...man...p-p-people!" One of the women ran to his side to help him calm himself. Once he regained his composure, the man took a deep breath and faced the frightened gathering of villagers. "There is a strange man at the docks...a-and a ship, bigger than any I've ever seen! He is dressed like a king!"_ _Murmurs spread through the crowd at these words and hesitantly, they took their first steps towards the docks._

 _And just as the fisherman had said, there stood a man on the wooden pier, flanked by two armoured men with a nine pointed fan symbol emblazoned on their chestplates. The two guards appeared to be twins, with red tinted gold hair braided down their backs and unusual honey colored eyes with slit pupils._

 _The man between them was vastly different from them. Where the guards had a thicker, muscular build, he was slim and lean. Where the two had height, he was a bit shorter than them. Where their hair was light, his was dark as the depths of the ocean. His eyes shimmered a blueish silver with slit pupils as well, and he had pointed ears and longer than normal nails that almost resembled claws. When he smiled at them, they could see his pointed teeth._

 _"Hibiki, Kaori, stand down." He commanded in a voice as smooth as the ocean looked on a calm day. The guards did so stepping back to let him speak to the people. "Greetings, I apologize for any problems we may have caused for you all. I was not expecting to find a village so close to us when we arrived. My people and I come from a dieing land and would like to settle here if it is no problem."_

 _The one to speak up in response to the man was an elderly woman from the village. She pushed her way through the crowd until she stood before the man. "My Lord, we would be honored to have you here, but this is so sudden. Please sir, give us a few days to think it over."_

 _The man nodded his head in understanding. "Please, take your time. I think it wise as this is a small place and I wouldn't want to force you to waste resources on us. We have enough left on board to last us a while longer."_

 _"Thank you my Lord. We appreciate it very much." The woman said, before watching the man go. She hastily added, "I am Ayano. Iif you need anything, please let me know."_

 _The man froze and turned smiling softly back at her and the crowded people. "Thank you for your hospitality Ayano-sama. You may call me Ryūjin."_

* * *

Along the darkened paths of the old palace, one man stomped angrily along. He had lost yet another team of his Hunters to those Yōkai bastards! Though they had come back alive, he was still furious as their injuries put them out of commission for a good long while.

He threw open the door to the master chambers and slammed it shut behind him. That woman was infuriating and he knew not what to do to finally be rid of her. No matter what he tried, she was always able to evade him. Perhaps she was simply familiar with his tactics? Then he would have to try something new.

He had tried using chakra against her, against the Yōkai, but the beasts were adapting. They too were using chakra to enhance their abilities. No, he needed something more, something stronger. He needed to get his hands on a bloodline ability and either breed it or somehow implant it into his men. But which ones?

"Dammit!" He growled out. Why was everything so...so difficult?! He didn't care for shinobi clans or their bloodlines. That was his subordinate's job, not his. Perhaps he should ask. Yes, no use throwing a fit, he knew just who to ask. Besides, the man had to check up on his subordinate's little "pet project" that he had going in the basement.

He opened the door to his room again and slipped out quietly, fixing his blue, dragon mask as he went.

* * *

 **I'll have a few of these every so often. There's a lot more to this story after all.**


	5. Konohagakure

**Just so you know, I replaced the authors note on chapter four with a brief interlude. You don't have to read it, but it has some things that don't revolve around Toyotama, Sakura, and Kabuto. If you wind up liking it, there will be more of them later. Please comment if you can, it's nice to hear encouragement once in a while.**

* * *

 ** _Konohagakure:_**

"The trees here are soooo tall! Where's the camera? I gotta get a picture for Gaara!" The bouncing pinkette exclaimed looking for the item. She dug around in her family's luggage until she found what she was looking for. Kabuto had to hold onto the back of her shirt to keep her from falling out of the wagon as she leaned out to get a good shot.

"Sakura, you need to be more careful. What kind of ninja are you if you can't even stay in a wagon?" The silver haired medic asked the girl, who glared at him over her shoulder before snapping a quick shot and ducking back inside.

The camera churned out the photo and she proudly held it up to her older cousin. He took it and stared in surprise at what she had managed to get on film. Two familiar shinobi were caught on camera, one with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail that was trying to hide in the shadows somewhat as he glared at the other. The companion however, was in the center of the shot, grinning broadly and flashing a peace sign.

"Those are your friends, right Kabuto-nii? Shisui-san and Itachi-san?"

Before the older boy could answer, a black blur swung into the wagon's open back. It was closely followed by another and the two from the picture stood in front of the travellers. It was Shisui who spoke first, smiling as he brushed his curly hair out of his eyes. "You bet princess!" Leaning down to the girl's level he whispered, "He's my best friend! But don't tell Itachi that, he'll be jealous."

The child giggled and quietly answered, "But can't you have two best friends? Kaa-san says so." The teenager gained a thoughtful look and after a few moments, he nodded in agreement.

"You're right princess, how can I be so silly?! You really are so smart!" He praised the girl, who grinned and hugged his leg.

"You're smart too Shisui-san!" Sakura said happily, and the boy grinned at the compliment. He even ignored the snort Kabuto covered with a cough and Itachi's amused huff.

"Aw, thanks Kura-chan. It means a lot. So, you see anything cool on your trip?" The little girl nodded and released him as she ran to her things and pulled out a thick photo album. She brought it over to show Shisui while Kabuto turned his attention to the other Uchiha.

"So, what brings you two here, hmm?" The medic asked curiously. He was not entirely sure whether it was a current mission or if they were returning from one, so he asked. Itachi stared at him, a flash of confusion in his eyes.

"Toyotama-sama requested an escort to Konoha. I thought you'd have known." The boy answered honestly, if not a bit monotonously.

Kabuto looked surprised for a moment but then asked, "Okay, but why are you two here? This is probably a C-rank mission. B-rank at most because of the shear number of people. You guys do higher ranked ones than that I'm sure." He seemed to be talking more to himself by the end but Itachi still answered.

"I believe that we were specifically requested for as Toyotama-sama had sent a letter promising to explain it more in detail." The younger Uchiha explained as best he could given the lack of details he had. Nothing was more frustrating then a mission lacking in proper information.

"Oh, well we can ask her once she decides to stop us for the night. For now though, I think we'll have to wait. She hitched a ride with Ichigo-san to help him take inventory." The boy explained.

"Hey hey, Kabuto! How old are you again?" Shisui called out. He was sitting against the wall with Sakura in his lap. The girl excitedly pointing at pictures a moment ago was now staring at him as well. Sure she knew her cousin's age, but she was still curious about whatever Shisui was about to say.

"I turned fourteen this year, why?" He asked, sitting down just before the wagon hit a bump in the road.

Shisui grinned broadly at him, "Because if you talk to Toyotama, you can probably come stay with us in Konoha! We could really use a medic on the team."

Itachi, who had quietly sat down and observed them until then said, "I agree with Shisui. You would be quite helpful. Especially since you are our age and already a skilled medic and fighter here."

"You want Kabuto-nii to be a real shinobi with you?" The little girl asked, blinking up at Shisui with shining eyes. The older boy looked back down at her and smiled, patting her head.

"Sure do princess, Itachi and I only work with the best!"

"Yeah! I'm gonna be one a the best too! Nii-san is teaching me to be a shinobi too!" She exclaimed happily as she declared her idea.

It made the older boy chuckle and she saw Kabuto smiling. "I would, but I'm still needed here. The caravan won't defend itself you know...but anyway what are you looking at right now Sakura?"

"Oh yeah!" The girl exclaimed, waving the boys closer as she plucked a singular picture from the album. It was a picture of the pinkette with her arm around a little red haired boy who waved shyly with one hand. The other arm was occupied by a sandy gold...animal was the best description. There was a charm around it's neck and an almost pouty look on it's face.

"That's my friend Gaara and his summon Shu-chan!" The girl explained, remembering what Kabuto had told her about letting people know about Shukaku. She didn't want to put Gaara in danger because of her.

"A summon? At his age? Wow..." The elder Uchiha muttered, suppressing the urge to shiver at the sight of the beast. Even from the photo he could tell something was wrong with the creature and could see Itachi had a similar reaction. And Sakura went on to ramble about her adventures around Suna until it got dark.

It was as Kabuto tucked the sleeping girl in after they stopped for the night that Toyotama appeared. She motioned for the three boys to follow her as she turned and left. Shisui and Itachi both turned to Kabuto, who shrugged and led the way.

Outside the old woman was waiting for them, and led them farther from the caravan once she saw them behind her. She didn't stop until she was a few feet away from the rest of the travellers. Toyotama then turned to face the boys. "Now, I know I've never had to ask for escorts before, but I thought it would be best to have it be you two. You are familiar with us and trustworthy young men."

Shisui cracked a proud grin at being called trustworthy while one could see the slightest upturn of Itachi's lips. "We are glad you trust us so much Toyotama-sama. What exactly were the details of this escort mission though?" Itachi asked.

"Ah yeah! You did say you'd explain why you wanted us specifically." The other Uchiha pointed out. The elderly woman frowned, her brow creased in worry. She waved her grandson to stand by her side and sighed tiredly.

"...We are being followed. I know Kabuto understands, but I believe it's best to warn you boys too. I am a hunted woman, for no reason other than some man has a grudge against people like us. They have been following us for a while and some of my...sources have told me they may be planning on targeting clans as well as us."

"Hang on!" Shisui called out, worry etched onto his face at the thought of someone after one of his good friends and his friend's family. "What do you mean?! Who's after you? Why?"

Itachi, however, remained composed as he held his hand up and asked, "When you say clans, you mean like the Uchiha clan? Or clans with a kekkei genkai?"

"Both." She answered. "Especially you boys. Itachi Uchiha, clan prodigy and youngest to make Anbu. You've master your Sharingan thus far yes? Even though it is only in the first tier." Itachi stiffened eye blazing red at the information, and a glance at his cousin showed the same.

"And then there's you, Shisui of the Body Flicker. You've mastered the technique to a degree unparalleled. Plus you are one of they few with the Mangekyo Sharingan and your special genjutsu. I've yet to learn it's name, but I know what it does."

Even though the woman's posture remained relaxed and unthreatening, her eyes gentle but worried, the Uchiha boys let their hands stray to their kunai pouches.

"Ba-chan isn't going to hurt you if that's what you're worried about." Kabuto stated. They both turned to him, tense as if expecting a fight. "You asked for them because you want them to know, right Ba-chan?" The old woman nodded.

"Know what?" Itachi asked suspiciously.

"About me. About Kabuto and Sakura. About how I know what I do. About things you boys weren't even aware of. Things long forgotten in this world. I think it's fair you know, as I know your secrets. I'll answer any questions you have right now before I explain." She said to the two. The Uchiha boys exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Okay...how do you know about that... About us?" Shisui asked skeptically. Itachi nodded slightly, eyes glinting with curiosity.

With a snap of her fingers a dragon made of water appeared over her shoulder. It's long, shimmering body was tinted silver in the moonlight. "These are my Tiny Tamas. They are made from water. I send them to gather information on potential threats to my people. Mostly they track down and keep tabs on the Hunters, what the men after me call themselves. I sent them to learn about your clan when one of my Tamas reported that they were potentially targeting Uchiha's."

The cousins were quiet as they mulled over the new information. "Why would they target us though, if they're after you? You guys are civilians right? Well, mostly."

"Not quite Shisui." Kabuto said. He shot an apologetic glance at the older boy. "I may be trained like a shinobi, but some of the others never were. The majority of adults here are still far stronger than any civilian. They are Yōkai, like the ones from Ba-chan's stories, remember those?"

"The demons she used to tell us about?" Itachi asked. He blinked in surprise when the two nodded.

"Okay, so...let's pretend we believe that you're demons. You expect us to believe that you were stealing information from our clan, and probably others, for what? Our own protection? What would they even want from us?" Shisui was yelling now, frustrated with the situation at hand and having trouble wrapping his head around the new information.

Itachi however was just as calm as always, making it hard to read his opinion. "Assuming this is all true, it sounds as though they might want us for the Sharingan. Especially you Shisui, as you have the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"That's exactly what I mean. You see, Yōkai are stronger than ever with both Qi and chakra at their disposal. Qi is what gives us our abilities, though chakra is far easier to use. The Hunters are mostly human though, and train for ages to stand on par with an untrained Yōkai. So their best bet is to use chakra and bloodline limits against us." Toyotama stated.

"You are both good kids alright? You are my grandson's friends as well. I don't wish to see you dead." She added after a moment of silence. "I trust in your abilities as shinobi and I'm sure you can hold your own against the Hunters, but please, if you even meet a man in a blue dragon mask, run. He is not like the other Hunters."

Shisui blinked in surprise, tilting his head curiously. "Why?"

"What's different about him?" Itachi questioned her, fishing for more information.

The old woman smiled wearily and looked over at her grandson. "He's like me. A full blooded Yōkai."

* * *

"This is crazy. It's crazy! Right Itachi? He's a literal demon!" Shisui exclaimed furiously. He was still upset about the previous night's conversation, though now it was more because Kabuto never told him than anything else.

"Hn."

"To you maybe. To me it's normal." Kabuto said ignoring the pointed glare sent his way. "You should really take a deep breath and calm down before you pass out." He tacked that comment on in a very matter-of-fact tone, shooting a cheeky grin at the dark haired boy.

The elder Uchiha chucked a nearby pillow at his head and said, "Don't give me that 'medic voice'. I know you make it all condescending on purpose!"

"Shisui, shut up." Itachi said, glaring at his cousin. Before Kabuto could rub it in Shisui's face, he added, "And stop antagonizing him." The silver haired boy frowned at that, but still listened. Shisui on the other hand...

"How are you so calm?! Literal demon, remember?!" The older Uchiha cried, waving a hand awkwardly at his friend. The boy's cousin just sighed.

With a snort, Kabuto said, "As amusing as it is to hear you freak out, I'd appreciate you not shouting my status out loud for the world to know." The boy paused for a moment and then added, "Unless of course you want to get my sweet little cousin brutally murdered by a psycho because you couldn't keep a secret."

Shisui only grumbled at that. Though Itachi seemed upset too, as he said, "You still could have told us." This made his cousin nod in agreement and Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

"And pray tell, how does one even breach the subject? If I had just walked up and said 'oh, and by the way guys, I'm actually a Yōkai! No seriously!' You would have dragged my ass to the nearest Yamanaka and had them see if something was wrong with me." The teen pointed out.

With a heavy sigh, Shisui nodded. "Yeah, probably." He admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "But it really is a weird situation you know?"

"I do."

At that moment, Toyotama clambered back into the covered half of the wagon. "Alrighty boys, we'll be at Konoha soon so you two should at least sit on the roof to look like you did something." She told them. They nodded in understanding and disappeared from the wagon.

Kabuto stood then, saying, "I'm going up too." Before following them as well.

* * *

Once the caravan had reached their designated area, the small family split apart. Kabuto had followed his friends off to the Hokage tower while they delivered their mission report. Toyotama had explained that it was alright to tell Hiruzen Sarutobi what she had told them. He knew about her already anyway, having caught on to the fact that he'd seen her as an old woman when he was young and not buying her excuses of just looking similar.

Mebuki Haruno had taken her daughter off to the park to meet some new kids and possibly make new friends. The old woman had watched her go, seeing a mischievous look in her granddaughter's eyes. Kami knew what the girl was planning, she could only hope that it wasn't something too bad.

Meanwhile, Kizashi was left to set up their wares. The man was fretting again over how to set things up, as usual. He kept placing things and rearranging them until Ichigo came over and helped him out. Sometimes she wondered what her descendant saw in the man, but she supposed his slightly neurotic tendencies could be a good thing sometimes. Hell the man spotted a missing nin hiding among their ranks once because there was just one box too many among their supplies and he made sure he knew exactly how much they had.

As for herself? Toyotama was simply waiting in the shade of a tall tree for the Anbu she knew would be sent for her. She had to wonder, would Hiruzen be mad at her? Probably not. Maybe upset, disappointed even, but not mad. The Uchiha boys would tell him why she told them her best kept secret. It's for their safety as well as their village after all.

Finally after an hour of waiting, an Anbu in a dog mask appeared beside her. "The Hokage wants to see you," was all he said before he disappeared again. She sighed and huffed, getting to her feet and calling out to Kizashi, who waved a hand in acknowledgement. Sometimes she wished she could just use her chakra to speed up her travel, but that would be very suspicious for a civilian grandmother.

As she approached the tower, she realized that her grandson's chakra was still there, along with the two Uchiha prodigies. Still she didn't falter in her steps. Not even when she felt the familiar presence of Danzo Shimura fall into step beside her. "You came late this year." He commented, and she could practically feel the suspicious aura leaking off of him.

"I did, why? You miss me dear? Or did you convince yourself that I'm some no good spy from some criminal organization again?" The older woman quipped back, slightly irritated. Not by Danzo, no, but her mood has been sour since her Tamas came back with the information about targeting clans.

"That was one time, Toyotama. And you had been acting awfully suspicious then." He retaliated bitterly, catching the irrate tone of her voice.

The woman chuckled, amused, as they came to the stairs. "Twice actually, if we're counting they time Kizashi-kun freaked you out with his neurotic tendencies. You were on guard around my whole family for the rest of our stay, even my two year old granddaughter."

"Forgive me for not knowing what she was capable of, seeing as how your seven year old grandson could use medical ninjutsu." The man defended. It was logical in his mind that if one child could use something that required excellent chakra control, who knew what the other could do.

"I see your point, however, there was no need to _growl_ at her. She just wanted to be your friend you know." Toyotama huffed as she came to a stop outside the Hokage's office. "Well, this has been a...chat. I suppose I'll see you around, do stop by and actually be civil with my grandchildren for once. And maybe practice looking nicer, no woman likes a man who looks like Hashirama used the Mokuton right up his a-"

"BA-CHAN!" Came the exasperated hiss from behind the woman. Danzo leaned to the side, his face having twisted into more of a scowl at the woman's harsh wwords as his gaze landed on the silver haired boy. The man frowned more at the outrageous laughter coming from the room, he had seen the trio enter earlier and could guess we'll enough who it was.

"Ah, Kabuto! There you are. Is that Shisui I hear dieing in there?"

The boy blinked and glanced behind him, "I think 'dieing' is an understatement."

"I can see that your casual snark is hereditary. I hope that granddaughter of yours has at least some manners." Danzo commented stiffly before walking away.

"What? No good-bye kiss?" The woman called after him, though he was obviously ignoring her. "Oh well, his loss." She murmured to herself, proud to be an annoyance to the man.

Kabuto sighed softly as he stepped out of her way. "Ba-chan, was it really necessary to antagonize Danzo-sama?"

"Of course not, but he had it coming with that overly suspicious attitude of his." She stated in her own defence, watching her grandson pull Shisui off the floor. It was then that Hiruzen cleared his throat.

The four people in the room turned their attention to the man. "It's come to my attention that you shared sensitive information with these two before coming to me. Why is that?" He asked immediately, motioning to the seats. They all sat down.

"They needed to know. I wasn't about to let Kabuto's friends get blindsided on a mission and I'm sure you would rather not find two of your best Anbu dead without their eyes." She responded automatically, but honestly. Hiruzen felt guilty for asking when the two Uchiha boys shifted nervously. Itachi's hands gripped his pants tightly and Shisui paled, reaching up to his face before he caught himself and lowered his hand again.

"Who?" He asked, deciding to hurry up for the sake of the boys. (They were children for Kami's sake! They shouldn't have to worry about someone stealing their eyes!)

"Ao Ryū and his Hunters. I told them to flee if they meet that man."

"Why?"

Toyotama paused for a moment not sure if he meant why tell them or why would clans be targeted when the Hunters only hunt Yōkai. She decided to go with both. "I told them to flee Ao Ryū because he's a full blooded Yōkai like myself, and seems to be the same age. They couldn't fight him and expect to win. And why target clans? I'm not sure, but he may think their kekkei genkai will give him an advantage against us."

The room was silent for a moment before Hiruzen asked one last thing. "If he is a Yōkai like yourself, why is he trying to commit a genocide of them?" She could tell that the boys who were sitting quietly by her side were curious as well. It made very little sense that someone would want to kill their whole race.

"I...I don't know. His motives are not exactly clear. There is nothing to gain from killing us, so I'd assume it's a grudge that's causing this. Though why all of us I don't know." She stated. "Millennia ago this was between me and him, but he was the one who dragged the rest of my people into this. And now, he's trying to drag in more innocents."

"Ba-chan, weren't you the only full blooded Yōkai to stay after humans started to...?" Kabuto trailed off in his question looking anxious.

"I was, but I don't think Ao Ryū was always a Yōkai. He may have been human once..but that was a long time ago. Now he's the very monster he claims us to be."

* * *

The four of them left the Hokage tower and went their separate ways. Kabuto stuck with the other boys as they walked towards the Uchiha compound to warn the clan about the potential threat. Toyotama, however, returned to her wagon to gather her old times and seal them in to a scroll for safe keeping.

She stayed there as she began to send various Tamas around the village to watch the perimeter and especially around the clan compounds. She would do everything in her power to stop Ao Ryū from getting his hands on even one clan's bloodline, though a part of her fear that she may be too late.


	6. Naruto and Sasuke

_**Sorry this is late, I had my internet shut off for a day.**_

 _ **Anyway, please read and review if you like! It really does help.**_

* * *

"Kabuto-nii! I wanna come too!" The little girl called, running around the stall her parents had set up and ducking around the caravan's customers. Her white haired cousin was about to follow after his friends when he heard her, so he motioned for them to wait. She latched onto his pant leg and stared up at him with her big, green eyes.

With a sigh, the older boy looked down and fixed his glasses, asking, "Yes Sakura?"

"I wanna go with you and see a real training ground! " the girl exclaimed, adding, "And you can teach me how to do that thing Ba-chan showed you, where you walk up trees!" Shisui looked highly amused by her demanding tone and Itachi raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Now, now princess, how do you know that we're going to train? We could be going to Itachi-chan's favorite dango shop for a snack." He told her, struggling to hide a chuckle at her little pout while ignoring his own cousin's glare. She even had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed in a very familiar, very _Kabuto_ , way. Not that he'd ever tell the medic that, he wasn't sure how his friend would take it.

With a huff she said, "Because! Nii-san took his stocked weapons pouch, which he wouldn't need unless he was gonna fight! And you guys have yours too!" Sakura stated as if it were obvious, waving her hand towards their kunai pouches. "And even if you were really going for dango, I still wanna go! I like dango too!"

"So smart princess, and so observant. I wonder where you get it from?" The older Uchiha stated, face falling slightly at being caught by a six year old.

Kabuto cut in then and said, "Kizashi oji-san. He's a bit neurotic. Tends to have a few fits too if something's not right where he had it. Thankfully Sakura was spared that." The little girl bristled at that and smacked her cousin as hard as she could, which wasn't nearly that hard.

It was still hard enough to make the silver haired boy flinch though, and Shisui laughed at him for it. Itachi only spared them a glance and turned to the girl. "It might not be a good idea if you watch us spar. No matter how good the shinobi, some weapons tend to stray in a fight. You could get hurt."

Again she pouted and argued, "I'll sit far enough away! I really, really, really wanna come!" The older boy sighed a little at that, it reminding him of his own brother when the boy wanted to train with him.

"Hey, I know! Why don't we bring Sasuke-chan! I bet he'd love to come watch us train, aaand I can show him how much better I am than you! That way he stops arguing with me every damn time he sees me at your place." The last part was mumbled quiet enough so that Sakura wouldn't hear but loud enough that the other boys could.

"Really? Yay!" She exclaimed loudly, drawing attention from the surrounding crowd. It had dwindled from the large one earlier to a more manageable one. Sakura seemed oblivious to their stares though as she said, "Oh, but that's not fair cause Shisui-san doesn't have anyone to bring."

Shisui shrugged and was about to brush it off when the girl suddenly snapped her fingers, a bright smile on her face. "I know! You can bring my friend Naruto! He's easy to find cause he's got blonde hair and blue eyes and these lines on his face that look like whiskers!" She described him to Shisui so he could find him. "Tell him Sakura sent you. So we can play ninja!"

The elder Uchiha stared at the girl for a second, trying to comprehend what she had just told him. He glanced between her, Kabuto, and Itachi before his cousin spoke up. "You heard her Shisui, go find her friend while I go to get Sasuke." And with that the boy left, Shisui following closely behind him.

Kabuto then held out his hand, letting his cousin take it. She happily grabbed it and followed after him, chattering about how she was going to show Naruto how to be the best ninja.

* * *

This week was probably the most unusual week in his short life, or so Naruto decided. Just yesterday a girl with pink hair offered to be his friend. Then her mom actually pushed them both on the swings and took them to lunch. She had let him pick and of course he chose Ichiraku's. She let him eat as much ramen as he wanted while Sakura stared at him.

And now today, a boy with black hair and eyes came up to him and told him Sakura wanted to play ninja with him. He was skeptical at first, but then, how would he know Sakura was his friend if he wasn't also her friend. So he decided to go with the boy and was herded off to what the boy called a 'training ground'.

The first thing he saw was Sakura arguing with a boy who looked kind of like the one who brought him. The next were the older two boys standing behind them. The silver haired boy rubbed his temples with if fingers while the raven haired one looked on amused.

Sakura stomped her foot angrily and crossed her arms. "Nuh-uh! _My_ Nii-san is better! He's a medic and he'd have to save your brother! And he could heal himself and keep fighting!"

The dark haired boy huffed angrily, and yelled back, "Well _my_ Aniki is a po...prog... _prodigy!_ And he's in Anbu! An _elite!_ Yours is just a civilian!" The boy countered, puffing out his chest to appear threatening.

The shorter pinkette growled, and dropped into a fighting stance, the boy doing the same. Before either of them could make the first lunge at the other, Naruto piped up. "Hey Teme! You leave Sakura-chan alone!" Shisui snorted as his younger cousin rounded on the new voice, eyes narrowed at the crude insult.

"Make me Dobe!" He shouted at the blonde.

"Sasuke..." But the boy didn't hear his brother call him.

"What?!"

"You heard me Dobe!"

"Hey! Don't be mean to Naruto!" Sakura shouted, this time actually lunging forward. She caught the boy off guard and they both tumbled to the ground. The dark haired boy punched her before pushing the girl back, only to be forced back down by Naruto, who threw himself at the other. The brawl escalated as Sakura recovered, throwing herself back into the fray.

Meanwhile the older boys watched on, Shisui asking, "Should we stop them?"

Kabuto and Itachi nodded, though neither made any move towards the younger kids. The eldest of them noted that Kabuto looked hesitant while Itachi looked more amused than ever, with his lips curled up in a barely there smile. "I never knew Sakura had such a temper." The younger Uchiha commented.

The silver haired boy sighed. "I think she gets it from Ba-chan. The old woman can have quite the temper sometimes." They watched as Sasuke slipped out of Naruto's hold only for Sakura to deck him as hard as she could.

"Well, let's go pry them apart guys. You know, before they kill each other?" Shisui said, approaching the fight cautiously. When he was standing beside the three furious kids, he reached out and grabbed the nearest one, Naruto, who thrashed violently. It was enough to get the other two's attention when the boy shouted at him.

"Shisui-san! Don't bully Naruto!" The girl shouted accusingly, pointing her finger at the boy. The Uchiha made no move to put her friend down and she was about to kick him when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough Sakura. No more trying to kill Itachi's brother, okay? I think you got your point across." Kabuto said, nodding to the dark haired boy, who was being lectured by his own brother and then to Naruto, who Shisui reprimanded. "Now, hold still and let me fix that bruise. And then you'll go and apologize to Sasuke for starting a fight and play nice."

The girl sighed and relented, watching as the glowing hand settled on her swelling cheek. "Fine, I'll try. But you're still the better Nii-san." She stated firmly, as if trying to convince the boy it was true. Her cousin only smiled in return.

After he healed the girl, he turned to Shisui, who still held the little blonde high off the ground. The only difference now was that the boy hung limply with a disappointed look instead of thrashing about. "...and really Naruto, you could have hurt Sakura bad. You can't just go throwing yourself into a fight without considering your friends. Do you understand me?"

The blond pouted, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, I gat it.I didn' mean ta hurt her. But that Teme deserved it."

"I don't think he did. They were just arguing."

"But he hit Sakura!"

"And she hit him first. He's aloud to defend himself in a fight." The Shisui lectured the boy, who seemed to deflate more as he wiped at his bloody nose. "Ah, Kabuto, do you mind...?" The Uchiha held the little boy out to his friend, who motioned for him to put the kid down. Once sat on the grass, the silver haired teen knelt down to heal his wounds.

"All right, you're good Naruto." Kabuto told the boy as he pulled back his hands. The blond immediately ran off to Sakura and apologized to her in case he had hit her during their fight. She just seemed to wave it off with a happy smile.

Deciding that those two were fine, the older two boys walked over to Itachi and Sasuke, the latter of which had a slightly terrified look on his face as he stared at his brother. The two turned their gaze to them when Shisui spoke. "Ah, you threatening to tell Mikoto Oba-san that little Sasuke hit a girl?" The glare he got was all the confirmation the oldest Uchiha needed. "Thought so. Wow Sasuke-chan, those two really did a number on you, huh?"

The boy narrowed his eyes at his cousin, but didn't argue, knowing full well the he probably looked as bad as he felt. And he was right, leaves and twigs were stuck in his hair and his clothes were covered in grass stains. One eye was starting to swell and he was covered in scrapes and bruises. He was a little worse for wear since he was the one the other two had ganged up on.

"That girl hits hard for someone with pink hair." He stated before looking up at Kabuto. "Why is her hair pink? It's soooo weird. Is it normal?"

The older boy nodded. "Yes, she was born like that. But any how, I need to heal you, so hold still." And with that he held his glowing hands over the worst of the boys injuries. In a few minute he was all better and sent off by Itachi to apologize. For a moment, the older trio watched the younger while they started chatting before Kabuto said, "Perhaps we should disappear for a while. I want to show you my special power, since you know about my whole situation now."

Itachi tilted his head curiously, though it wasn't too noticable. "As in your specific one? I thought you could only use it when..." He trailed off suddenly, as if worried that someone would hear them talking about the Yōkai.

"That's only in the stories, you can get it whenever, and some never do." The silver haired boy explained as vaguely as possible.

"Wow, really? What is it?" Shisui asked.

"I call it, _'Ryūgū-jō Defence'._ It'll be good practice I'm sure." Kabuto stated confidently. "But we need to keep them busy since it's still not 100 percent safe." And so the three discussed ways to keep the kids entertained while they sparred. Finally they settled on setting them up for some simple throwing practice.

Once they had set up some targets, they left the kids with three kunai and shuriken to throw. They were held up by Shisui, who knelt by Naruto while he taught the boy how to hold the weapons. Finally he seemed happy that the blond wasn't going to hurt himself and went to his friends, who just finished correcting their own charges.

"And remember, it's not mastered unless you can hit the bullseye 100 times in a row." Kabuto said quietly to Sakura, though Itachi and Sasuke seemed to hear as well. Shisui could see the gleam in his younger cousin's eyes.

"Alright! I'm gonna be the first to hit the bullseye! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. Sasuke only scoffed at him.

"As if Dobe. I'm gonna get it first, and I'll do it again 100 times." The dark haired boy declared, arms folding across his chest.

"No! I will first! Ichigo-san taught me and he's really great!" Sakura chimed in with her own confident voice. And once the older boys were sure that the kids were okay on their own, they wandered off, far enough to keep the kids from getting hurt by stray weapons but close enough to check up on.

* * *

A week after first introducing the younger children was when Itachi and Shisui approached the nomadic family with an invitation to dinner. Itachi's mother had apparently been wanting to meet her sons and nephew's friends since Sasuke told her about their joint training sessions. Toyotama had answered for the family, yes they'd be honored, what time, will you escort us there, and other things she thought were good to know.

And that was how they wound up following after Shisui, who had already collected Naruto. The little boy had been ecstatic about actually being invited to something and continued to chatter happily about it to the Haruno family and once he told them, he started talking to 'Shisui-nii' about helping him beat 'the Teme'. Sakura simply chattered about the things she read with Kabuto, asking how this jutsu or that jutsu worked. At least, that was until they entered the Uchiha compound.

Kabuto noticed how his cousin was immediately distracted by the place. She looked all around her as they walked, and saw the people waving to Shisui or staring at her family or Naruto curiously. However, the people there would occasionally bow to the older woman amongst them. "Ba-chan, why are they bowing to you?" The pinkette asked finally.

"It's nothing really dear. I simply worked with those people in the Third Shinobi War." The woman replied, smiling politely at another familiar face. "You recognize some of them too, don't you Mebuki, Kizashi?" The couple nodded, and Shisui looked back at them.

"Yes, we do," Mebuki answered for her husband.

"I didn't know you guys were in the war." Shisui stated, sounding genuinely interested.

"Me neither." Sakura and Kabuto mumbled.

Kizashi shrugged. "We didn't do much. Our caravan had split up at the time and only us Haruno's and the Yamada's would make the trip to Konoha. We transported weapons to the village and occasionally took supplies to the front lines. Plus Toyotama would gather information for Konoha as well." didn't do much. Our caravan had split up at the time and only us Haruno's and the Yamada's would make the trip to Konoha. We transported weapons to the village and occasionally took supplies to the front lines. Plus Toyotama would gather information for Konoha as well."

"But it not really important. We just did what we could. " Mebuki added before switching the subject. "But anyway, I've never been inside the compound before. It's very...self-sufficient. I've noticed so much at least."

From her spot beside her grandmother, Sakura thought she heard the woman mutter something like 'gilded cage' under her breath. But the girl didn't get the chance to ask about that as they had arrived at the clan head's home. Shisui stepped up and knocked on the door, jumping back in time to avoid getting hit by the door as it flung open.

There stood Sasuke, glancing over them all, with Itachi behind him, his hand outstretched like he was reaching for the knob. There was a slightly bewildered look on his face as he stared down at his little brother. And them the shouting began.

"Teme! You almost hit Shisui-nii!" Naruto shouted, pointing at the other boy accusingly. The darker boy bristled.

"Can it Dobe, he's fine! And don't call me Teme!"

Sakura chimed in then. "Don't call Naruto a Dobe or I'll pummel you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Before the kids could start a fight, Itachi said, "Ototou, if you want to spar with them, go out back so you do not break anything." A moment of silence passed and then the younger boy sighed. Sasuke turned around and waved for his _training rivals_ to follow, because he wasn't about to call them his _friends_. Not yet anyway.

When Sasuke disappeared with the other two children, Itachi led the rest of the Harunos to the living room he stated that his mother, Mikoto was still finishing dinner so they could wait there. Sitting across from the family was a man with dark brown hair and black eyes who introduced himself as Fugaku. He didn't really say anything, but they could see how he observed them over the edge of the book he was reading.

.

.

.

The dinner had started off normal, with the Uchiha family on one side and the Harunos on the other. Sasuke was across from Naruto and Sakura, while Kabuto sat opposite his own friends. The younger kids had even helped Mebuki and Mikoto set the table after a brief spar. And it was a quiet affair aside from Naruto's constant praising of the food.

However, about halfway through the meal, Fugaku spoke up, gaze settled on the traveling family's eldest child. "So, Kabuto was it?" He started, not exactly waiting for the boy's affirmative nod. "I've heard some...interesting things about you."

One silver brow raised as the boy in question locked eyes with the man. "...that so? Interesting how?"

"That you are only a civilian with no known shinobi training and yet can use the Mystic Palm technique proficiently. That and, if what Sasuke says is true, you've made a jutsu of your own. What was it again?" The man clarified, not missing the cautious tone in the boy's voice, or how his gaze flickered to the two Uchiha prodigies across from him.

"You mean my _'Suiton: Ryūgū-jō Defence'_?" He supplied, seeing the satisfied look. "Yeah...I think your information is a bit off. I may be a civilian, but traveling like we do is very, ah, enriching? I think that's about right. Shinobi would sometimes hitch rides with us from place to place and of them, the more friendly ones were happy to show curious children how to use their chakra. The rest I learned from books and scrolls Ba-chan would give me."

"So, you're self-taught then?" The clan head pushed, to which he received a 'more or less' in response. "And have you ever considered being part of a village? Konoha could always use talents like your own."

Kabuto didn't respond to that, so Mebuki spoke up, "He's played with the idea, but I doubt he'd leave the caravan. That's were Sakura is after all, and those two are practically inseparable." The woman giggled slightly and then faced her daughter, "By the way Sakura, who won your little sparring match earlier?"

"We called it a draw! Naruto's getting better now that Shisui-san is helping him." The girl chirped happily. "And Sasuke is starting to learn to work with us."

"That's great sweetie!" Mebuki said, while Kizashi patted Naruto's back in pride.

Mikoto let out a soft hum before she said, "It's too bad that you travel, otherwise they could be classmates in the Academy. Oh well." She shrugged when she suddenly added, "But you know, Sakura would look cute with Sasuke. I wonder if that pink would be hereditary..."

Kabuto sputtered and Shisui choked on his food, hacking a bit until whatever got stuck came loose. Itachi, though shocked, simply said, "Kaa-san, don't you think they're to young for marriage?" And then Naruto, who had taken a sip of his drink, spewed water across the table, soaking Sasuke.

"DOBE!"

"There's no way Sakura-chan would marry the Teme!" The blonde shouted, ignoring Sasuke until the boy leapt up. The shout had scared Mikoto and she had jumped a bit in surprise.

"Don't yell at Kaa-san Dobe!" The littlest Uchiha shouted, leaping to his mother's defence.

However, Naruto only yelled back. "Don't marry Sakura-chan, Teme!"

"I won't that's gross!" Sasuke said, putting emphasis on the 'gross'. He pulled a slightly disgusted face.

"Good!"

"Good!" And Naruto sat back down while Sasuke stormed off to change, only stopping for permission. The two left behind a stunned group, except Sakura, who was used to hearing their arguments.

When Sasuke returned, the table settled back into an awkward chatter. Then Sakura spoke up. "If I were gunna marry an Uchiha, I'd marry Shisui-san! He is nice and funny!" She exclaimed happily.

Shisui choked on his food for the second time that day, and never had he feared more for his life than when he met Kabuto's piercing gaze.


End file.
